We boarded our 2 hour ferry in Herkalion, Crete for a 3 night trip to Thira, Santorini to soak up more beaches and famous sunsets. The ferry was pretty choppy and fortunately neither of us turned as green with seasickness as some of the others did. What we did experience were gale force winds when we arrived to the island. Wow, it was windy! You know when you stand against the wind and it will pretty much hold you up on an angle? Yep, that kind of wind.
We spent our nights in the capital city of Fira which is pretty much in the center, on the west side of the island at a cute little place called Ptolemeos Hotel. The best part was that it was located off of the incredibly busy tourist track on a quiet little side street. We landed early and had the full day ahead of us so off we went to check out the town. Walking up and down cobblestone sidewalks alongside pristine white hotels and homes with their famous blue shutters and doors, there was plenty of shopping to be done. If you are looking for Gucci, Breitling or Swarovski while on vacation in the Greek Isles, this could be a great place for you to check out! If you’re looking for peace and quiet, I would suggest checking out the southeast side of the island. You’ll find a much more mellow vibe with a traditional beach and island feel in places like Kamari or Perissa.
The public transport on this island is incredible! You’d think that the system was run by the Swiss with their amazing efficiency! We stayed just 2 blocks from the main bus station in Fira which is the hub for going anywhere on the island which made things incredibly convenient. There were also options for renting 4-wheeler ATV’s and motorbikes. We stuck with the bus. Watch out, they will totally run you over if you’re in the way!
One of the cooler things we explored was Akrotiri which was a city that was inhabited by the Minoan people and buried beneath volcanic ash when the island’s volcano erupted in 1627 BC!! about 700 years prior to Pompeii! The city was discovered in the late 1800’s with near complete preservation including fresco’s, sewer and drainage systems, town square and 3-story homes. Not to the same extent of preservation that Pompeii has become, the site has been funded by private donations since 2012. If you’re visiting Santorini, it’s a pretty cool place to check out! And if you’re considering Pompeii, go there too!
Last night we went up to the famous Oia for the “real” Santorini sunset experience. It was beautiful, no doubt about it. Would I do it again? Nope. The crowds were kinda crazy to be honest. The shops became even higher end and just didn’t feel like my style. Should someone want to pay for me to stay in one of those beautiful hotels with my own personal pool facing the sunset, I wouldn’t say no but I wouldn’t pay for it on my own. We did have an amazing dinner and local wine flight at a little place off the main street. It was my first chance to try local anchovies and WOW – they were worth every bite! I could have easily eaten two orders of them! If you like fish and happen to find yourself in Santorini, definitely try them. Delicious.
Donkeys are Santorini’s spirit animal. You can’t walk 25 feet without some kind of donkey something around you. Magnets, t-shirts, beer…. they’re everywhere! This morning we woke up for a sunrise walk down to the Old Port and it was totally worth it. There is a funicular on the island that will take people up and down the 580 steps as well as… you guessed it, donkey’s. We walked our way up and down those damn steps (gotta work off that Greek yogurt somehow)! As you can probably imagine, donkey’s make a mess when they’re stuck taking tourists up and down steep cliffs. The aroma (stench) was pretty strong on the top and the bottom of the trail and we delicately stepped in the least polluted areas with hopes of not starting our day landing in a pile of donkey shit. Total success!
We checked out a few beautiful beaches that were worth the trip. The downside of being in Fira is that the cliffs are so high that you have to go to a different side of the island to go to the beach. Personally, I’d rather stay within walking distance to a beach if I’m on an island and bus to the touristy shopping/sunset areas. The first beach was Red Beach which was really cool. Deep, dark mahogany red cliffs plummeted into long roller like waves and a narrow strip of beach. Chilly waters with no visibility were completely different from what we experienced in Crete. Today we went to two black sand beaches which were totally worth going to! The first beach, Perissa was perfect. Long black pebble beach ran right into a wall of rock at the end. The water was pristine; perfectly clear, turquoise and beautiful. We jumped on a water taxi to take us over to Kamari beach which was just as pretty. On our way back to Fira we stopped off at the Santorini Brewing Company which is known by the locals as “donkey beer”. They are one of only 20 breweries in Greece and opened in 2011. Of course we tried some samples, how could we not? Yellow Donkey, Red Donkey, Crazy Donkey and White Donkey are their most commonly produced beers. The Red and White were my favorites and surprisingly better than expected!
Tonight was our last night for sunset and we decided to stay local and watch it in Fira. We both agreed that we prefer the Fira sunset experience to Oia. If you come, make sure you weave your way down the alleys lower so you can watch the sun reflect off the white buildings. Not only that but people don’t want to walk so you’ll have nearly the whole thing to yourself! Totally worth it.
Interested in checking out some photos? Take a peek at the Gallery page for some fun shots of Santorini!
Off to Athens tomorrow!
Inkleined To Travel 